Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas
Either your troubles make you better, or they make you bitter. We must always examine what’s going on in our hearts. T. D. Jakes
I’m looking at my garden and the squirrels are eating the beans. My neighbor’s beans look untouched from my vantage point. A duck has set up her nest in our backyard. We’d never seen a duck in our backyard until Saturday when she stood on the fence for a long time, yesterday the dog chased her, and then my husband noticed a nest. Our daughter is thinking how cute ducklings will be, and we are wondering how big of a headache is this going to be.
Nature in all its glory is around us and as we take over animal’s habitats they learn to live among us, to our delight and dread depending on the animal. Even in small gardens, we find surprises, a nest of bunnies, or a plant we bought that never bloomed, and when it does it is spectacular.
A red peony blooms in my garden. Years ago I bought peonies on sale and they didn’t do anything but stay alive. One that was struggling I moved and it is finally thriving and blooming huge red blooms. Our garden can disappoint us when we don’t get the expected blooms and delight us with the unexpected.
Our gardens teem with life and my grandson was excited to see earthworms. He loves the rabbits, birds, and squirrels. Watching him I think how much fun it was growing up on the farm, and how much he would have loved it. Is it my age or is it the personality he has that reminds me of a little farm boy with a shovel, rake or watering can in his hand?
He is quick to say, “I do it, I help you, and it’s your turn.”
We can worry about the things we cannot change, and listening to the news makes us wonder what kind of future a wonderful little boy or girl has. If we look back over the years there has always been something looming in the distance, some things materialized and some didn’t, but we have moved on as a society.
Anybody can become angry – that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way – that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy. Aristotle
If we can continue to think life will be good for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren it is better than if we get disillusioned with the future. The future is coming and if we can face it with hope and optimism we will be better off than if we get disillusioned.
We don’t know what hard times we might face in our lives, we might not even know how hard they were until they are over and we look back and wonder how we managed. Our job is to deal with what is, keep life in perspective, and give our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren the strength to know they can deal with what comes.
Life is a garden our thoughts are the seeds, we can plant flowers or we can plant weeds. Just like weeds will choke out what we want in our garden, negative thoughts can choke out what is good in our lives. When does negative thinking meet realism and realism meet optimism, and how do we keep a balance? Where we make a mistake in my opinion is when we focus on what we have no control over, and we don’t take control of what we can.
When I listened to Mom talk about the hard times, some people made the best of what there was, and some made things worse than they had to be. Can we make what we control better, or do we let the things we can’t control make us bitter? It’s our choice, and no one gets to control everything in their lives, but we can control our attitude, and that is what will make the difference in whether we become bitter or better. Is it anger without action that makes us bitter?
Events in life will make you bitter or better. That one letter difference is up to you. A. Dodd
Bitterness is a result of clinging to negative experiences. It serves you no good and closes the door to your future. Leon Brown
You either get bitter or you get better. You either take what’s been dealt to you and allow it to make you a better person or you allow it to tear you down. The choice does not belong to fate, it belongs to you. Josh Shipp
Thank you for reading this post. Please come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.
